Erasmus's Translation of the New Testament and the Reformation

This morning Red Baron was at the university listening to a lecture by Professor Henk Jan de Jonge of the University of Leiden, the Netherlands. His topic, Erasmus's Translation of the New Testament and the Reformation, is highly relevant when Lutherans worldwide commemorate 500 years of the Reformation.

In 1516 Johann Froben at Basel published the Novum Instrumentum omne diligenter ab Erasmo Roterdamo recognitum & emendatum, non solum ad graecam veritatem, verumetiam ad multorum utrisque linguae codicum ... emendationem & interpretationem ... by Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus.

The renowned expert in the field, Professor Jan de Jonge, told the audience that the initial purpose of Erasmus was to write a Latin text more elegant than the Vulgata. His translation of the New Testament from the hand-written Greek urtext is based on classical Latin, written by Cicero, Caesar, Sallust, Livius, and Quintilian. Erasmus went back to the Greek roots (ad fontes). He did not want to replace the Latin Vulgata that dates back to the 4th century but rather eliminate corrupt text passages and correct mistranslations.

According to Erasmus, one should translate not ad verbum (word-for-word) but ad sensum (sinngemäß or meaning-based). Any translation is just a recommendation and does not determine the meaning. Erasmus hoped that in his time of religious turmoil, i.e., during the Reformation, his new translation would contribute to the renewal of Christianity.

For his translation of the New Testament into German, Martin Luther used Erasmus's "best" Latin version but the interpretation, with the help of many new German words he invented, was all his. In fact, the significance of Erasmus's work is not so much the better Latin of the Novum Instrumentum to be used by theologists and educated people but the opening for other, additional, and newer translations and interpretations. This is why Catholics were not allowed to read Bibles other than those authorized by Rome for centuries. In the 19th century, ironically, Protestant theologists started scrutinizing and questioning Luther's text going again back to the roots (ad fontes). As times change, so do translations and interpretations of the Bible.

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